Indiana University men’s basketball Coach Archie Miller met with the media on Thursday afternoon at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. He previewed Indiana’s game on Saturday afternoon at 2:30 against Notre Dame. Moreover, Coach Miller provided some interesting insights into the growth he’s seen over the last 10 games (and areas that still need development). Additionally Arch provided views on the somewhat surprising minutes that Zach McRoberts has seen in recent games.
TEAM STRIDES OVER THE FIRST 10 GAMES
Coach Miller highlighted several areas where the team has grown over the first 10 games:
- The team is “playing harder for longer stretches.”
- They “believe in what we are doing a lot more than they did a month ago.”
- There is not as much “hoping things go well”, but instead “a lot more confidence in how they do things and being able to do them.”
- They’ve been able to “establish their style for longer stretches in games.”
“A LOT OF ROOM TO GROW”
Coach Miller also highlighted areas where continued growth is needed:
- The team needs to continue to develop the half court defense, and week by week challenge themselves to get better. They need to hammer the rock every day and become a team that is hard to play against.
- On offense they need to find 4 and 5 guys that are clicking together, find balance, chemistry, and continutity. Miller noted that “we’ve had a couple here and there playing well, and then a couple guys aren’t playing well.”
WHAT ZACH McROBERTS BRINGS TO THE TEAM
Also noteworthy was Coach Miller’s praise for the play of Zach McRoberts:
- “Zach brings all the attributes” including competitiveness and physicality to the table.
- “I can count on him” being where he’s supposed to be and playing hard.
- He gives “winning plays”.
- “As you study your team you’ve got to reward guys that bring it every day, and he’s earned that right.”
- He had a “tremendous game against Louisville” competed hard against Adel, and he got rebounds and loose balls.
You can watch the full video here:
